Brown University
George Washington
Men's Water Polo Beats George Washington in CWPA Quarterfinals, 22-11
11/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Seniors Nick Deaver and Henry Fox and sophomores Jake Wyatt and Luke Irwin each scored at least three goals as top-seeded Brown University men's water polo beat eighth-seeded George Washington University, 22-11, in the quarterfinals of the CWPA Championship on Friday afternoon.
The No. 11 nationally-ranked Bears (25-6) netted the second half's first eight goals to pull away from the Colonials (13-13) at the U.S. Naval Academy's Lejeune Hall. Brown will play the winner of No. 4 seed Bucknell and No. 5 seed St. Francis Brooklyn in the semifinals tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.
The Bears outscored the Colonials 13-2 during a span from the second to fourth quarters, turning a 6-5 lead into a 19-7 advantage.
Fox (Mercer Island, Wash.) posted four goals to go with two steals and an assist while Wyatt (Corona Del Mar, Calif.) added another four goals as well as three assists. Deaver (Orinda, Calif.) recorded three goals and three assists, and Irwin (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) notched three goals.
Junior Matty Gallas (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and sophomore Warren Smith (Dallas, Texas) each charted two goals while freshmen Tommy Bush (Lafayette, Calif.), Tyler Kirchberg (Orinda, Calif.), and Rico Burke (San Mateo, Calif.) chipped in one goal apiece.
Sophomore Yahel Murvitz-Lahav (Tel Aviv, Israel) dished out a game-high five assists along with a goal and two steals, and junior Will Klein (Pasadena, Calif.) drew a team-high three exclusions.
Brown sophomore goalie Luke Weiser (Los Alamitos, Calif.) made 15 saves in the win, including 10 in the first half.
The Bears trailed at 2-1 before using a 5-1 run spanning the first and second quarters to take a 6-3 lead. Fox began the run with back-to-back goals in the first quarter – the first off an assist from Wyatt and the second after Klein drew an exclusion.
After a Colonial goal, Burke put the Bears up 4-3 just before the end of the first frame. The Bears registered the second stanza's first two goals on tallies from Fox and Gallas before GW pulled within 6-5 at the 3:29 mark of the second quarter.
Brown then netted the game's next four goals as part of a 5-1 spurt, which gave the team an 11-6 advantage. Gallas and Deaver began the run with goals before Wyatt notched back-to-back tallies. Fox closed the run on Murvitz-Lahav's third assist during the streak. The Colonials netted a goal just before the buzzer to pull within 11-7 at the half.
The Bears took control of the contest in the third quarter, outscoring the Colonials 5-0. Deaver opened the second half with a power-play goal after Klein drew an ejection. Wyatt netted the next goal off a feed from Murvitz-Lahav before Deaver scored again to give Brown a 14-7 edge. Irwin and Murvitz-Lahav closed the quarter's scoring for the Bears.
Irwin posted the fourth quarter's first two goals prior to a tally from Bush, which staked Brown to a 12-goal advantage at 19-7. The two sides traded goals down the stretch with two goals from Smith and one from Kirchberg.
Brown 22, George Washington 11
George Wash.......... 3…4…0…4…11
Brown....................... 4…7…5…6…22
Brown Goals: Fox (4), Wyatt (4), Deaver (3), Irwin (3), Gallas (2), Smith (2), Burke, Bush, Kirchberg, Murvitz-Lahav.
